Alone … even in a crowd. That’s how many people feel, even at a church like ours. For some these feelings are accentuated during the Christmas season. They stand out as symbols of failure or loss. Perhaps your marriage didn’t work out and your spouse has the kids this holiday season. Your mother or father recently passed away. Christmas just isn’t the same without them. Or you’re that socially awkward teenager in braces, the one nobody talks to at youth group. You don’t see the point in going to Christmas parties, because you’ll just stand in the corner by yourself all night anyway. For some, loneliness is the norm. Christmas makes it worse.
Thankfully, we don’t worship a deist god who creates and then abandons what he’s made to chance. Far from it. After all, the miracle of Christmas isn’t a tender, greeting-card-worthy scene: of the young parents and their adorable newborn nestled together in a cozy stable filled with straw and cuddly animals. That’s how society markets Christ’s birth, with Santa and his sled full of presents. No, the miracle of Christmas is the unchangeable God who is outside of time and space, stepping into human existence. Jesus assumes a human body with all its weakness, vulnerability, and temptations. Not only is he with us, but he’s also been in our shoes.
When Jesus “passed through the heavens” (Heb. 4:14), he was enthroned at the Father’s right hand, as our mediator, our high priest. Yet, in this new heavenly role, he exists in glorified, immortal, and human flesh. He’s our high priest. But, in the Garden of Gethsemane, while his disciples slept, he was lonely. Jesus was–as Isaiah 53:3 puts it–a man of sorrows. Hanging on the cross, struggling just to breathe, he was forsaken by his Father. He knew ultimate rejection, abuse, and grief. In exchange, we find acceptance with God.
Jesus loves you–he sees you too. He’s felt your pain firsthand. This makes us bold (Heb. 4:16). We can come to Jesus with anything. Show him everything, even the parts of you people reject. Reach for his hand this Christmas, and you’ll find, at least with him, you aren’t misunderstood or alone. In Christ, you are not forgotten.
Jake Solis
Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor! And he has gifted his people to help provide wise and loving counsel to others. If you feel the Holy Spirit nudging and desire to receive counsel for yourself, please contact the Emmanuel Faith Care & Counseling Department. We would love to connect you with a counselor who cares and can point you toward the hope and freedom that only Jesus offers! Emmanuel Faith Counseling Resources